Up-to-date information in a wide variety of areas is very important to many people. These people often desire to be alerted to time-sensitive events and information. Content providers generate content for notifications, which are then delivered to one or more user electronically (e.g., via electronic mail). For example, a news organization may provide notification content relating stock prices, breaking news, weather conditions, traffic conditions, etc. A user's expressed interest to receive electronic notifications for a particular class of content is generally called a notification subscription. Such subscriptions often are made between the end user and the content provider that sends the notifications. Event-driven notifications of this type are often referred to as alerts.
A notification generally consists of two parts: (i) the routing/address information; and (ii) the message payload. However, different alert notification systems can have different protocols particular to the individual system. Information or content providers must then tailor the notifications to the particular systems, which complicates the delivery and management of notifications.
Accordingly, a generalized notification mechanism that allows for greater interoperability across different systems is desired to address one or more of these and other disadvantages.